The 57th GST Council meeting, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 8, 2026, focused heavily on "GST 2.0" process reforms, decriminalization, and ease of doing business without altering existing tax rates.
Key Decriminalization & Enforcement Reforms
-Arrest Powers Scrapped: Recommended removing arrest powers for tax officers and raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore.
-• Lower Penalties: Reduced the general penalty (where no specific penalty is prescribed) from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000, and removed mandatory minimum punishments.
-Monetary Threshold for Notices: Decided that no new notices will be issued for monetary amounts of ₹10,000 or below, and pending notices below this threshold will be withdrawn.
-Common Standards: Established unified standards for GST notices and legal proceedings.
Refunds, Registration & Compliance
-• Automated Refunds: 90% of eligible refund claims will be processed automatically based on risk assessment within 3 working days of acknowledgment.
-• Faster Acknowledgment: Reduced the time limit for acknowledging refund claims from 15 days to 10 days.
-• Inverted Duty Structure: Extended GST refunds to input services under the inverted duty structure starting November 1, 2026, and plant and machinery credit starting April 1, 2027.
-• Registration Amendments: 65% of routine GST registration amendments will be approved automatically.
-Rate Review Schedule: Future GST rate changes are proposed to be considered once a year (taking effect on April 1) for greater predictability.
Input Tax Credit (ITC) & Reliefs
-• Expanded ITC Eligibility: Allowed input tax credit on employee health and life insurance, telecom towers, and pipelines located outside factories.
-• Buyer Protection Study: Formed an officers' committee to study safeguards for genuine buyers who hold valid invoices, receive goods, and pay suppliers in full (report due in 3 months).
Dated 30th September 2026 Practice Note for E-filling of Appeals in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal- Forwarding or - Regarding
ITAT Makes E-Filing of Appeals Mandatory from October 1, 2026; Appeals Filed Outside E-Filing Portal to Not Be Registered.
The Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has issued a comprehensive Practice Note for E-Filing of Appeals prescribing the procedure for electronic filing of appeals and connected documents before the Tribunal. The Practice Note has been issued in exercise of powers under Section 255(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with Rule 6 of the Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963, as amended by the Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Amendment Rules, 2025
Mandatory E-Filing of Appeals from October 1, 2026
In a major step towards complete digitisation of appellate proceedings, the ITAT has prescribed that Memorandum of Appeals, which were hitherto being presented physically before the Benches of the Tribunal, shall henceforth be filed electronically through the designated ITAT E-Filing Portal. Significantly, with effect from October 1, 2026, any Memorandum of Appeal not filed through the E-Filing Portal, or not filed in the prescribed form or without proper signing and verification, shall not be registered by the Registry of the Tribunal.
1. Memorandum or Appeals, etc., wbigh, in terms Of Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963 (henceforth referred to as ITAT Rules), are hitherto being presented before the Benches of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) by the aggrieved parties in physical mode (paper form), shall, henceforth, be presented electronically using the designated e-Filing Portal pfthe ITAT available at.(itat.xey.in/efiling)
2. PAN/TÅN of the Assessee, Mobile Number and Email ID of the appellant are the •key identifiers in the e-Filipg Portal, "lherefore,havingPAN$TAN ofthe Assessee, Mobile Numberand Email IDs are prerequisites for using-the eFilingPortal. It is also necessary to fill the e-mail ID and mobile number (if available) of the respondenV in the relevant column.
3. Every Memorandum of Appeal and ali acco mpanying documents required under Rule 9 Of the ITAT Rules, which require the signature Of the appellant, Shall be digitally signed and verified by the person >pecified in Rule 47 Of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 or the authorized representative in accordance With Rule 16 of the ITAT Rules prior to uploading the same on the e-Filjng Portal. The assessce shall SpecificalJy au!horise the Representative to file appeal.
4. Date uploadin g of the Mern Orandum of Appeal, duly di gitally s igned and Verified, in the e-Filing Portal shall be date of presentation Of th Appeal.
5. As soon as an Appeal is e-Filed by the parties, an Acknowledgement to that effect shall be sent by email to the appellant. After preliminary scrutiny of the e-Filed Appeal, the Registry of the Tribunal shall register the Appeal and send a Registration Summary of the Appeal to the appellant by email within two working days.
6. Effective from October 01st, 2026, a Memorandum ofAppeal, not filed through the e-Filing Portal or not filed in the form prescribed under relevant Rules or not signed or verified in the manner prescribed in the relevant Rules, shall not be registered by the Registry Of the Tribunal.
7. Parties desirous of furnishing of Paper Books, documents, petitions, etc. in an e-Filed Appeal shall be required to do so through the e-Filing Portal only.
8. In case of Appeals filed in physical mode prior to October 01st, 2026, the Paper Books, documents, petitions, etc. shall be furnished inphysical mode only.
9. To access the e-Filing Portal and submit docUments and petitions, it iS essential for the Respondent to have email address and mobile number On record. lherefore, Respondents are advised to communicate the Registry Of the concemed Bench to update theirnobile number and email address.
10. Paper Books, Documents and Petitions filed by an Appellant or Respondent through e-Filing Portal can be accessed by the Respondent or the Appellant, as the Case may be, through the e-Filing Portal's Appeal Dashboard by logging in using the PANTAN of the Assessee, his own Mobile Number and Email address.
11. Appeal Dashboard ofthe e-FilingPortal can be accessed using OTPS on Mobile and Email (or) using a password set by the party in the Dashboard. nmerefore, the Authorized Representatives can use tbc password-based login facility for accessing the Dashboard and submission of@'eir documents and petitions.
12. Procedure for electronic filing Of Cros Objections, Stay Applications and Miscellaneous Applications, and documents and petitions therein, shall be Same as for electronic filing of an Appeal.
13. In case Of any difficulty in e,Filing of Appeals or connected documents and petitions therein, the e-filing helpdesk of the Registry can be contacted.
Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017 governs the legal framework for filing second appeals before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT).
The key provisions of Section 112 are broken down below:
1. Maintainability and Scope -Appellate Orders: Appeals can only be filed against an Order-in-Appeal from the First Appellate Authority or a revision order from the Revisional Authority. Direct appeals against an original adjudication order are not permitted.
-Monetary Threshold: The GSTAT has discretionary power to refuse to admit an appeal if the disputed amount (tax, input tax credit, fine, fee, or penalty) does not exceed ₹50,000.
2. Limitation Period -Taxpayer Appeals: An aggrieved person must file an appeal within 3 months from the date the order is communicated.
-Departmental Appeals: The Commissioner can review orders and direct an officer to apply to the Tribunal within 6 months from the order communication.
-Condonation of Delay: The Tribunal can condone a delay of up to an additional 3 months for appeals/applications if sufficient cause for the delay is demonstrated.
3. Pre-Deposit Mandate -Admitted Liability: 100% of the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty must be paid.
-Disputed Amount: An additional 10% of the remaining tax in dispute must be paid (over and above what was paid at the first appeal stage).
-Cap Limits: This disputed pre-deposit is capped at ₹20 crore each for CGST and SGST (and ₹40 crore for IGST). For penalty-only disputes without tax implications, the pre-deposit is 10% of the penalty
4. Cross-Objections and Recovery Stay -Cross-Objections: The respondent can file a memorandum of cross-objections within 45 days of receiving the appeal notice, which is treated exactly like an appeal.
-Automatic Stay: Once the mandatory pre-deposit is successfully paid, the recovery proceedings for the remaining balanced tax demand are deemed automatically stayed during the pendency of the appeal.
GSTAT Lucknow bench observed that a Valid SCN must tell the taxpayer- 1. Who is being proceeded against 2. What Tax/ITC/refund is allegedly wrong. 3. Under which statutory provisions 4. On what factual and Evidentiary basis. 5. Ans give the taxpayer a real opportunity to defend .
One wrong SCN can potentially bring down the entire demand .
SCN- Show Cause Notice .
Saksham knowledge services pvt Ltd vs Nitin Bansal Commissioner state tax Lucknow- GSTAT Lucknow bench .
Rahul Jha Associate Legal
The 57th GST Council meeting, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 8, 2026, focused heavily on "GST 2.0" process reforms, decriminalization, and ease of doing business without altering existing tax rates.
Key Decriminalization & Enforcement Reforms
-Arrest Powers Scrapped: Recommended removing arrest powers for tax officers and raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore.
-• Lower Penalties: Reduced the general penalty (where no specific penalty is prescribed) from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000, and removed mandatory minimum punishments.
-Monetary Threshold for Notices: Decided that no new notices will be issued for monetary amounts of ₹10,000 or below, and pending notices below this threshold will be withdrawn.
-Common Standards: Established unified standards for GST notices and legal proceedings.
Refunds, Registration & Compliance
-• Automated Refunds: 90% of eligible refund claims will be processed automatically based on risk assessment within 3 working days of acknowledgment.
-• Faster Acknowledgment: Reduced the time limit for acknowledging refund claims from 15 days to 10 days.
-• Inverted Duty Structure: Extended GST refunds to input services under the inverted duty structure starting November 1, 2026, and plant and machinery credit starting April 1, 2027.
-• Registration Amendments: 65% of routine GST registration amendments will be approved automatically.
-Rate Review Schedule: Future GST rate changes are proposed to be considered once a year (taking effect on April 1) for greater predictability.
Input Tax Credit (ITC) & Reliefs
-• Expanded ITC Eligibility: Allowed input tax credit on employee health and life insurance, telecom towers, and pipelines located outside factories.
-• Buyer Protection Study: Formed an officers' committee to study safeguards for genuine buyers who hold valid invoices, receive goods, and pay suppliers in full (report due in 3 months).
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Rahul Jha Associate Legal
Dated 30th September 2026
Practice Note for E-filling of Appeals in the Income Tax
Appellate Tribunal- Forwarding or - Regarding
ITAT Makes E-Filing of Appeals Mandatory from October 1, 2026; Appeals Filed Outside E-Filing Portal to Not Be Registered.
The Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has issued a comprehensive Practice Note for E-Filing of Appeals prescribing the procedure for electronic filing of appeals and connected documents before the Tribunal. The Practice Note has been issued in exercise of powers under Section 255(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with Rule 6 of the Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963, as amended by the Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Amendment Rules, 2025
Mandatory E-Filing of Appeals from October 1, 2026
In a major step towards complete digitisation of appellate proceedings, the ITAT has prescribed that Memorandum of Appeals, which were hitherto being presented physically before the Benches of the Tribunal, shall henceforth be filed electronically through the designated ITAT E-Filing Portal. Significantly, with effect from October 1, 2026, any Memorandum of Appeal not filed through the E-Filing Portal, or not filed in the prescribed form or without proper signing and verification, shall not be registered by the Registry of the Tribunal.
1. Memorandum or Appeals, etc., wbigh, in terms Of Income Tax (Appellate
Tribunal) Rules, 1963 (henceforth referred to as ITAT Rules), are hitherto being presented before the Benches of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) by the aggrieved parties in physical mode (paper form), shall, henceforth, be presented electronically using the
designated e-Filing Portal pfthe ITAT available at.(itat.xey.in/efiling)
2. PAN/TÅN of the Assessee, Mobile Number and Email ID of the appellant are the
•key identifiers in the e-Filipg Portal, "lherefore,havingPAN$TAN ofthe Assessee, Mobile Numberand Email IDs are prerequisites for using-the eFilingPortal. It is also necessary to fill the e-mail ID and mobile number (if available) of the respondenV in the relevant
column.
3. Every Memorandum of Appeal and ali acco mpanying documents required under
Rule 9 Of the ITAT Rules, which require the signature Of the appellant, Shall be digitally
signed and verified by the person >pecified in Rule 47 Of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 or the authorized representative in accordance With Rule 16 of the ITAT Rules prior to
uploading the same on the e-Filjng Portal. The assessce shall SpecificalJy au!horise
the Representative to file appeal.
4. Date uploadin g of the Mern Orandum of Appeal, duly di gitally s igned and
Verified, in the e-Filing Portal shall be date of presentation Of th Appeal.
5. As soon as an Appeal is e-Filed by the parties, an Acknowledgement to that effect
shall be sent by email to the appellant. After preliminary scrutiny of the e-Filed Appeal,
the Registry of the Tribunal shall register the Appeal and send a Registration Summary of the Appeal to the appellant by email within two working days.
6. Effective from October 01st, 2026, a Memorandum ofAppeal, not filed through the
e-Filing Portal or not filed in the form prescribed under relevant Rules or not signed or
verified in the manner prescribed in the relevant Rules, shall not be registered by the
Registry Of the Tribunal.
7. Parties desirous of furnishing of Paper Books, documents, petitions, etc. in an
e-Filed Appeal shall be required to do so through the e-Filing Portal only.
8. In case of Appeals filed in physical mode prior to October 01st, 2026, the Paper
Books, documents, petitions, etc. shall be furnished inphysical mode only.
9. To access the e-Filing Portal and submit docUments and petitions, it iS essential for the Respondent to have email address and mobile number On record. lherefore,
Respondents are advised to communicate the Registry Of the concemed Bench to update theirnobile number and email address.
10. Paper Books, Documents and Petitions filed by an Appellant or Respondent through e-Filing Portal can be accessed by the Respondent or the Appellant, as the Case may be, through the e-Filing Portal's Appeal Dashboard by logging in using the PANTAN of the Assessee, his own Mobile Number and Email address.
11. Appeal Dashboard ofthe e-FilingPortal can be accessed using OTPS on Mobile and Email (or) using a password set by the party in the Dashboard. nmerefore, the
Authorized Representatives can use tbc password-based login facility for accessing the Dashboard and submission of@'eir documents and petitions.
12. Procedure for electronic filing Of Cros Objections, Stay Applications and
Miscellaneous Applications, and documents and petitions therein, shall be Same as for electronic filing of an Appeal.
13. In case Of any difficulty in e,Filing of Appeals or connected documents and
petitions therein, the e-filing helpdesk of the Registry can be contacted.
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Rahul Jha Associate Legal
Tax Audit due date and ITR due date extenion by CBDT
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Rahul Jha Associate Legal
Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017 governs the legal framework for filing second appeals before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT).
The key provisions of Section 112 are broken down below:
1. Maintainability and Scope
-Appellate Orders: Appeals can only be filed against an Order-in-Appeal from the First Appellate Authority or a revision order from the Revisional Authority. Direct appeals against an original adjudication order are not permitted.
-Monetary Threshold: The GSTAT has discretionary power to refuse to admit an appeal if the disputed amount (tax, input tax credit, fine, fee, or penalty) does not exceed ₹50,000.
2. Limitation Period
-Taxpayer Appeals: An aggrieved person must file an appeal within 3 months from the date the order is communicated.
-Departmental Appeals: The Commissioner can review orders and direct an officer to apply to the Tribunal within 6 months from the order communication.
-Condonation of Delay: The Tribunal can condone a delay of up to an additional 3 months for appeals/applications if sufficient cause for the delay is demonstrated.
3. Pre-Deposit Mandate
-Admitted Liability: 100% of the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty must be paid.
-Disputed Amount: An additional 10% of the remaining tax in dispute must be paid (over and above what was paid at the first appeal stage).
-Cap Limits: This disputed pre-deposit is capped at ₹20 crore each for CGST and SGST (and ₹40 crore for IGST). For penalty-only disputes without tax implications, the pre-deposit is 10% of the penalty
4. Cross-Objections and Recovery Stay
-Cross-Objections: The respondent can file a memorandum of cross-objections within 45 days of receiving the appeal notice, which is treated exactly like an appeal.
-Automatic Stay: Once the mandatory pre-deposit is successfully paid, the recovery proceedings for the remaining balanced tax demand are deemed automatically stayed during the pendency of the appeal.
5. Summary of Prescribed Forms
-Form GST APL 05( Taxpayer Appeal)
-Form GST APL 06 ( Cross-Objections )
-Form GST APL 07 ( Department Appeal)
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GSTAT Lucknow bench observed that a Valid SCN must tell the taxpayer-
1. Who is being proceeded against
2. What Tax/ITC/refund is allegedly wrong.
3. Under which statutory provisions
4. On what factual and Evidentiary basis.
5. Ans give the taxpayer a real opportunity to defend .
One wrong SCN can potentially bring down the entire demand .
SCN- Show Cause Notice .
Saksham knowledge services pvt Ltd vs Nitin Bansal Commissioner state tax Lucknow- GSTAT Lucknow bench .
APL no APL/54/Lck/2026.
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